Should you host your site (WCMS) cloud-based or on-premise?

When choosing hosting solution for your WCMS it often comes down to a choice between an on-premise or cloud-based solution. So what are the main arguments for each solution? 

If we first put the question, what’s the difference? The question is justified, and the answer is a lot simpler than you think. On-premise software is installed locally to an on-site computer or server. This means you purchase the actual software and manually install it.

A cloud-based WCMS, however, operates on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud-computing model, which basically means that the software is hosted in a datacenter somewhere on multiple servers sharing computing resources, and is usually accessed through a web interface of some sort. 

On-premise versus cloud?

So, when it comes down to it, which is most suitable for your business? There are a few reasons why you may, or may not want to ‘deploy to the cloud’. To begin with, let’s look at the pros offered by on premise WCMS solutions.

Pros of on-premise include:

• Better for those who prefer to implement and administrate all of their own web content management software, applications and data
• On-premise gives greater control over the administration of servers and their contents, including software and apps
• It’s easier to keep within the parameters of specific IT plans, software can be patched and updated, backups carried out and security guidelines adhered to
• More control over applications and third-party software (such as browsers, plugins etc.) can be experienced

So for some, on-premise may still be the best solution when it comes to choosing where to host a WCMS. The primary benefit is of course that the company retains control over all of its IT assets and security.

Pros of cloud WCMS include:

• Often more cost effective, as you can pay for a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription service for only what you use. This is perfect for SMBs and/or startups because it helps keep costs down
• Scalability – This is a technical way of saying that you can change the nature and scope of your cloud WCMS service at any moment. You can scale everything from bandwidth use, CDN to CPU power.
• Security – Having data stored away from the premises means that you can leverage the infrastructure and processes to reduce risk, as data centres have back-up generators and a decent proper recovery plan in place.
• Ongoing maintenance and support is included at all times

Over the past year, many companies have referred security as the main barrier to using cloud services but this is much less relevant today. In fact, some experts believe that cloud services are much safer when it comes to data security. However, compliance is something that will need to be looked carefully at when choosing a provider.

Contact us at Zooma when you want to know more about how to choose the right model for your business!